When working as a project manager (PM), it is vital that thoughts, ideas and brainstorming sessions are not merely wasted opportunities. Often ideas are scribbled down on paper, only to end up at the bottom of the office bin. In many instances, those valuable 'light bulb' moments could have saved hours of time and a lot of money. Good ideas have lead to major inventions and created astonishing advancements in technology, products and services so we owe it to ourselves to never let a good idea pass us by again.

So what do we do when those shots of brilliance are firing at us from all cylinders? One way is to find a system which will allow us to record, extend, and prioritise in order of importance, depending upon the business requirement. They say that Newton received that "ah ha" moment with regard to gravity when he was hit on the head by an apple falling from a tree. Whilst, acts of God can sometimes drop ideas into our lap, most of us need a little forethought in order to plan events which will lead us to our goal.

This brings us to the world of mind mapping which is a technique often practised by project managers. Mind mapping is a valuable tool for recording ideas and information in such a way as we can easily understand the entire structure of a subject and solve problems even before they arise.

By using mind maps, PM's no longer need to have a vision in their minds, they can have it in front of them, rather like a jigsaw puzzle, piecing every step together and recording facts which are normally displayed in long written notes, in easy to read form. Mind maps are a valuable way to recall large pieces of information from a simple glance and to relay important facts and figures using a system which the mind can easily relate to.

So throw away those pages of lists and long detailed notes as mind maps can hold an encyclopaedia full of information on just one sheet of A4 paper. By remembering the shape and layout of a mind map, it will be easy to use the prompters you have installed to memorise detailed information.

Mind maps are the perfect way for PM's to list priorities and ascertain which resources will be needed for individual tasks and the project as a whole. They also allow project managers to gather information, organize it in stages and present it in a visual form.

Perfect at meetings and less rigid and formal than conventional notes, a mind map will allow a project manager to evaluate the way that individual facts can link to each other. It can also be used to identifying risk, facilitate meetings, document project scope and evaluate such areas as team dynamics and team development.

Mind maps provide the following key benefits:

The ability to break down large pieces of information into bite sized fragments.
The freedom to consolidate information acquired from a variety of sources.
They allow a project manager to work through complex problems by breaking down stages and playing with a variety of scenarios.
Recording information in such a way that all avenues are covered so as a detailed plan can be constructed for moving forward.

Mind maps have been around for many years but project managers can benefit immensely from the visual image they create, thus making it easier to explore, discuss and extend a map so as every angle is covered. This sort of information can help a company to save both time and money.

By now you are probably thinking, "Great idea but how complicated are these wondrous mind maps?" Well the good news is that they are as easy to produce as drawing a circle. Think back to those childhood days when you played hang man with your friends. You started off with a head and when each person chose the wrong letter for your chosen word, you added arms, legs and even facial features. But the initial image was formed from a circle which resembled a person's head.

Mind maps follow the same pattern. You choose a problem or subject area, draw a circle on the centre of a page and give it a title. This circle acts as centre stage for subtopics, subdivisions and sub headings which branch outwards using a system of colours, nodes and icons. In project management they are akin to the days when we would write down directions to a specific place. First we would recall where we were at that time and then we would construct brief notes to take us to our final destination.

A complete mind map can look rather like a spider web, weaving out in many directions. It is the perfect tool for project managers as a map is compiled from a series of single words or easy to remember symbols which stimulate recall. Colours are a great way to divide off ideas and show how a subject is organized. Personal symbols or drawings provide a trigger to information. The saying "A picture speaks a thousand words" is certainly true with mind mapping. Whenever a subject cross-links with another area, it can be displayed using lines to show the correlation. This provides information as to how one subject area directly affects another. Project managers can benefit from this by spotting connections which may have been otherwise overlooked.

There are many effective forms of mind mapping software available which take the hard work out of brainstorming sessions, time management, problem solving, event planning and presentations. Mind mapping can also save valuable time at meetings. In a one hour lunch period team members could throw around ideas, work out an initial estimate, assign resources and compile a rough schedule.

Mind mapping software will assist a project manager in constructing a visually appealing project website in just a few clicks of a mouse. There is no need to master complicated coding as the layout is simple and easy to construct. Senior management, team members and clients can view the site along with any updates or amendments. Mind maps can break a project management workload down in the following ways:

They can record ideas relevant to a project.
Outline objectives.
Define milestones and track the progress of key stages.
Compile questions with regard to the scope of a project.
Indicate research which needs to be carried out
Show resources which are required.
Show a list people who need to be contacted.
Describe and sum up team roles and duties.
Locate experts or sources.
Add further notes which pan out additional information.

Software makes it easy for a PM to construct a project plan. With mind mapping software, you simply create a new branch for every task and position it in the correct sequence. In order to reach the end goal a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) will list everything in stages.

Most mind map software offers a brainstorming mode so as you can capture ideas which are displayed as branches. Set the timer for fifteen minutes and with the simple click of a mouse, you can record every single thought which is related to the project. Try repeating this process over a week so as everyone can tap into their subconscious and thrash out ideas. At the end of the week, the best ideas can be added to the map.

Once the list of tasks has been exhausted, they can be organized. This can vary from project to project. If, for example, you were going to manage a group of people who were going to follow your guidance, you could create individual branches for each team member and drag all of the tasks which are relevant to them onto their individual branch.

Not only are mind maps perfect for the start of a project, they also serve their purpose as a fully functioning ongoing way of summarizing events in the future. Complex projects can be dissected into bit-sized pieces of information to make even the most complicated problem easier to solve.

Project management is a combination of science and art which requires the use of both the left and right side of the brain. The right side of the brain deals with visual images and the left side is analytical and sequential. Mind maps use a selection of images, words and hierarchy which the brain can associate with and thus result in information being recalled or evaluated with very little effort.